Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Tester"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tester \Tes"ter\, n. [For testern, teston, fr. F. teston, fr.
OF. teste the head, the head of the king being impressed upon
the coin. See {Tester} a covering, and cf. {Testone},
{Testoon}.]
An old French silver coin, originally of the value of about
eighteen pence, subsequently reduced to ninepence, and later
to sixpence, sterling. Hence, in modern English slang, a
sixpence; -- often contracted to {tizzy}. Called also
{teston}. --Shak.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tester \Tes"ter\, n. [OE. testere a headpiece, helmet, OF.
testiere, F. t[^e]ti[`e]re a head covering, fr. OF. teste the
head, F. t[^e]te, fr. L. testa an earthen pot, the skull. See
{Test} a cupel, and cf. {Testi[`e]re}.]
1. A headpiece; a helmet. [Obs.]
The shields bright, testers, and trappures.
--Chaucer.
2. A flat canopy, as over a pulpit or tomb. --Oxf. Gross.
3. A canopy over a bed, supported by the bedposts.
No testers to the bed, and the saddles and
portmanteaus heaped on me to keep off the cold.
--Walpole.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
tester
n 1: someone who administers a test to determine your
qualifications [syn: {examiner}, {quizzer}]
2: a flat canopy (especially one over a four-poster bed)
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